This invention relates to hammers having a so-called "soft" head of multipurpose design used to drive parts without damaging the parts being driven. The heads of such hammers are traditionally composed of relatively soft metals that become deformed in service and use, as opposed to deformation of the part being struck.
The traditional way of making such hammers includes forming a separate head for the hammer and assembling it by various means to a handle, often of a different material (wood or steel). Occasionally, the striking face of the hammer head itself may be removable and replaceable. A wide variety of the soft or relatively soft materials is used and includes soft metals such as copper, zinc, lead, aluminum and their alloys, plastics, rubbers, rawhide, fiber pressed particle and wood material. Even those not well versed in the products available to industry are familiar with the rubber headed hammers used to mount hubcaps on automobiles. The object is to get sufficient weight and momentum in the head of the hammer such that the striking force results in a movement of the articles being struck while at the same time having the face of the hammer head being deformed such that the force of the impact is spread over a larger cross-sectional area which prevents permanent deformation of the article being struck. It is recognized that if the hammer is used on material having a hardness and toughness less than the hammer then the material struck will be deformed.
This invention is relatively limited as compared to the wide variety of uses outlined above in that it is limited to aluminum alloys while the hammer itself may have a wide variety of uses. The hammer of this invention is designed to replace existing aluminum surfaced hammers as it is a superior product in function and is novel as to structure. Copper, brass, lead and the like might be used employing identical structural features.